Take forward reforms to enjoy emerging markets party: PwC

DAVOS: Stressing on its belief in the growth of emerging markets, leading global consultancy giant PwC has said India should move forward with its reform agenda to continue to benefit from this growth story.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here, PricewaterhouseCoopers India Chairman Deepak Kapoor said the emerging market growth story remains strong and if India misses the bus, it would be of its own doing.

Asked about his views on the two major issues of the recent past, the Vodafone tax dispute and the flip-flop on retail FDI by the government, Kapoor said, "These are two different issues, one relates to a big transaction and the other is about the political opposition to a proposed policy decision. But indeed the image of brand India in the global landscape was hit in both the cases."

"While the court decision in the Vodafone case has managed to undo the damage to Indian's image among global investors, there is also hope in the other matter, the retail FDI, as the government has said that it would work on building a consensus for opening up the sector for foreign investors," he added.

"What we need to worry about is the possibility of India being left out of the emerging growth story," Kapoor said.

The emerging markets have indeed arrived and their growth is certain on the global landscape, but we need to make sure that India does not miss the bus in this emerging market growth story because of such issues that hurt the country's image in the global economic context," he added.